Love Live!: The University Series
by Cynnifer
Summary: Love Live! University AU. Where Eri is bisexual and has a crush on Umi, an underclassman in a band. Where Nico has a crush on the pianist from the same band. Rin, the drummer of the band, is Ace. And Honoka and Kotori are in a long-distance relationship.
1. Chapter 1

Eri didn't really have any sort of fondness for the club scene. It was loud. Too many flashing disorienting lights. Too many loud noises. Too many sweaty bodies pushing each others in waves of motion leaving little to no room for personal space. It was bad enough that she had to work in that sort of environment but for Nozomi and Nico to drag her here for a so-called "fun-night out"? Eri was resisting the urge to kill her so called 'best-friends'.

"What the hell am I doing here?" Eri moaned, sifting her beverage around in her glass. She didn't even know what she was drinking — just that Nico assured her it was non-alcoholic. Mainly, it tasted like a fizzy cherry juice cider… The moment, if ever, Eri started feeling even the slightest bit woozy, she would stop drinking. She did, after all, have to drive home.

"You are celebrating the successful end of the first semester," Nozomi explained with a teasing grin, lifting her own glass to her lips and taking a sip. She was obviously glowing from the energy in the room. "With your best friends who you have been neglecting as of late!" Nozomi added with a playful frown.

Eri felt a slight pang of guilt at that statement. "I'm sorry. I've just been a bit busy."

"I'm just teasing," Nozomi said. "You know I understand."

Eri smiled. "Did we have to come to a club though? I mean, there are so many other things to do than just sit and drink and talk."

"Well yes," Nozomi rolled her eyes and gestured at Nico. "You'll have to ask Nico for an explanation for this one," Nozomi teased with a sparkle in her eye.

Nico shot a scathing look at Nozomi. "Nozomi, shut up." she said extremely seriously.

Of course, Nozomi didn't. Eri would have questioned Nozomi's sanity had she listened. "Nico's got a crush on the pianist," Nozomi grinned deviously, her eyes turning towards the stage.

Eri followed her gaze. A quick appraisal told Eri that the stage at the rear of the club was being occupied by a five-member girl band. Eri focused on the pianist. She was pretty, Eri admitted. The pianist had a slim body, fair skin and very slender arms. Gorgeous burgundy-red hair. She had a sort of brooding-sexy but at the same time cute thing going for her. But no sparks flew. Eri sighed indadvertedly and turned to Nico who's cheeks were sporting a very flaming shade of red.

"Nozomi!" Nico exclaimed slamming her hands on the table to command her attention. "I do not have a crush on her," Nico stressed, puffing up. "I just admire her talent, that's all. She wrote the instrumentals for all of Muse's songs you know. She's really amazing. I'm a fan."

"Oh really?" Nozomi prodded, her lips curving into a smirk. "You won't mind if I get her number after then? She is rather cute," Nozomi ran her tongue over the top of her lip provocatively. "Very cute."

Nico's eyes flashed but she folded her arms in front of her, turning back to the stage. "No," Nico gritted. "Not at all. Do what you want."

A perfect cadence cut through until the harmony dissipated into the air into a sort of filled silence. The club erupted into applause — or hoots and hollers more like it from the people on the dance floor. Eri watched as the brown-haired girl centre-stage taped the microphone two times before she spoke into it.

"Hey guys," the cheerful girl's voice echoed through the club. A chorus of 'Heys' replied back to her, inciting a grin. "Hope you enjoyed that," she said, pausing, waiting for the club to respond with cheers. "So if you don't know already I'm Honoka," the audience greeted who Eri guessed was the lead singer very enthusiastically, "And we," Honoka turned to gesture to her band, "Are Muse." This time, the applause lasted quite a bit longer.

"They are really popular, aren't they?" Eri asked in the middle of the applause, her hands clapping along automatically.

"Are you kidding?!" Nico gaped at Eri incredulously. "They are the local band to listen to. They've won regional awards and stuff! One of their original music videos last year went viral on the web. And I think the lead singer actually went to our high school. How have you not heard of them?"

"You are the band fanatic. Not me," Eri reasoned.

"Yeah but this isn't like obscure hipster music. Muse is really popular. Especially around here," Nico continued arguing.

"Nico—"

"Never mind, just hush," Nico cut Eri's subsequent point off, turning back to the stage without a second glance.

"—bad news for you all," Honoka had been saying. "Some of you may know this but for those of you who don't know, Kotori is actually going to study fashion abroad in France." Honoka turned to the side, smiling at the guitarist. Honoka reached out to grab the hazel-blond girl's hand. Her eyes teared up slightly. "She's amazing, isn't she—" Honoka's voice broke off and she turned away from the audience, covering her face with her free arm. The guitarist quickly shrugged off her guitar, placing it not so gently on the floor, and wrapped her arms around the lead vocalist, shielding her from view. The guitarist murmured words that could not be heard from the audience.

A collective 'Aw' resounded. Then shouts of encouragement erupted.

"Don't leave her!"

"World's cutest couple!"

"Be strong!"

"Kotonoka forever!"

Eri blinked, leaning closer to Nozomi. "Were they a thing?"

Nozomi shrugged, taking another sip of her drink. "I guess so."

"Nico?" Eri prompted, turning to her other side. Nico had shed a tear, causing Eri to smile a bit. Nico was a big softy despite her bark.

Eri turned back to the stage just in time to see a dark-haired girl wave Honoka and Kotori off the stage and take the mic. Eri inhaled sharply. The dark-haired girl was strikingly beautiful. Her straight hair flowed to just above her waist and seemed to shimmer under the light. She had a defined nose but full and rosy lips. Her long legs were hugged and accented by the cut of her jeans. She wore a simple v-neck t-shirt that clung snuggly hugged her sides. But her eyes. Dark and mesmerizing. Was she the bassist? Yes, she must be.

Then, into the mic, the bassist spoke.

"So," the bassist began simply.

Suddenly, the room cheered.

That didn't make much sense to Eri — the bassist barely said anything. But at the same time, Eri could understand it. The bassist had the smoothest voice she had every heard. It was like listening to golden velvet. Like, if you could hear the touch of silk, that was what it could be.

"What the heck?!" Nico exclaimed, tugging at Eri's sleeve. "Oh my god, is she going to sing? She never sings!" Nico beamed at Eri. "Like ever. Especially not solo. It's always been Honoka or Maki taking lead. But oh my god, Maki and her are going to duet aren't they? This is going to be amazing!"

"Is that her name? Maki?" Nozomi spoke with a pointedly teasing smirk, inciting yet another glare.

"What's the bassist's name?" Eri asked.

"Shhhhhh," Nico hushed, her eyes stuck on the stage.

"We were going to play last number together as a group actually," the bassist spoke when quiet had settled over the audience. She spoke calmly, measured. It was rather different from how Honoka had commanded the scene — with contagious enthusiasm. The bassist, however, while she certainly had presence, she radiated a completely different type of aura. "But, Maki and I had to foresight to predict that Honoka and Kotori probably wouldn't be able to sing after that announcement and planned a surprise," the bassist looked over her shoulder to nod at Maki, who shot her a thumbs up. The bassist turned to face Honoka and Kotori, who were sitting at a table near the stage huddled close together. The drummer ran off the stage to offer the two of them tissue papers before leaping back to her seat. The bassist continued, gazing fondly upon that scene. "Kotori you are one of the nicest, kindest most caring people on the planet and I, Maki, Rin and of course, Honoka, care about you more than you can imagine. We will miss you so much more than we can say and Muse will probably never be the same without you." The bassist laughed slightly. "But, I'm not really good with words and neither is Maki, as you probably know, so instead, we decided to express our love in the only way we know how. We wrote a song for you."

A chorus of "Aw" and hoots.

The bassist bit her lips and waited for order. "So everyone. This is probably going to be the last song Muse will play for you until the next year. Because Muse isn't Muse unless Kotori is here so unfortunately, you, like us, will have to wait for her return."

Cheers. Applause.

"So, without further adieu…" The bassist stepped away from the mic and took off her bass. She grabbed Kotori's discarded guitar then stepped back to the mic. "Hope you don't mind if I borrow this," the bassist grinned at Kotori. "Alright then…" with a nod behind her, the pianist began playing.

Then the bassist-turned-guitarist started singing.

And it was the most awe-inspiring moment that Eri had ever encountered.


	2. Chapter 2

"She's amazing," Eri breathed, getting up with the rest of the club to give the dark-haired girl an standing ovation. Eri couldn't even describe how she was feeling in that moment. It was just… there are singers who can sing notes perfectly on pitch and have a flawless technique. But then, there were singers who, when they sang, just touched a place in the heart that wasn't there before. It was hard to explain. Harder to understand. Eri didn't understand it herself. Just. Wow.

"She is," Nico cheered, probably talking about an entirely different person.

When the applause died down, the bassist-turned-guitarist spoke into the microphone again. "Thanks everyone. Have a good night. We'll see you again in about a year." With that succinct farewell, she turned away and stepped off the stage, Maki and the drummer trailing behind her to meet up with Honoka and Kotori.

Eri made an impulsive decision. "I'm going to go talk to her," she announced, pushing off her seat. She padded down her clothes to smooth over any wrinkles and fiddled with her hair for a bit. Gah. She should have dressed up a bit more nicely! But no. It was just a night-out with Nozomi and Nico, Eri had thought. Hence, she simply through on a casual t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Wait what?! I'm coming with you then," Nico exclaimed. Despite her words of going 'with' Eri, she didn't hesitate to rush past Eri to arrive at Muse's table first.

Eri was about to follow after Nico when an hand caught her wrist and whirled her around.

"You're just going to leave me alone here?" Nozomi asked pointedly, not releasing her hold.

"Nozomi," Eri sighed, looking over at where Nico's short figure was now animatedly chatting with the band members, "You can come with us. It'll just be for a minute."

Nozomi's eyes narrowed and she let go, slumping back down in her seat. "Yeah. A minute of me watching you flirt with another girl."

Eri's lips pressed into a thin line, anger rising up and colouring her cheeks. "Okay. First of all, _you _broke up with _me_ for no good reason. So you have absolutely zero right to be jealous right now. Secondly, you've watched me date other people before and you were totally fine—"

"Yeah, but they were guys," Nozomi cut in, rolling her eyes. "I didn't have a chance against them," Nozomi retorted, finishing off the last of her drink. "What does this mean anyways? Are you going back to girls now?"

"Nozomi!" Eri exclaimed. "I'm bi and always will be! Bi. As in bisexual. As in I like both sexes! Like I've been telling you for the past seven or so years!" Eri clenched her fists and struck her arm down through the air. "Forget it, I don't even know why I'm trying to explain this to you, again." Eri turned around, rolling her eyes, and started towards Muse's table.

"Wait, Eri," Nozomi called out, getting up.

Sighing, Eri stopped and waited.

"I'm sorry, you're right. I don't know what got into me. Stay, please?" Nozomi pleaded, batting her eyes and snaking her hand into Eri's. "I'll buy you another drink."

Eri remembered how easy it was to get lost in those playful eyes. But she was also very familiar with how much hurt those same eyes had caused.

"If you're flirting with me right now, you have to stop," Eri stated firmly. She resisted the urge to look past Nozomi to where Nico was. This was a serious conversation. Nozomi deserved her undivided attention.

Even if Eri's attention was slightly divided at the moment.

"I'm not," Nozomi protested. "I really do just want to hang with my best friend. I haven't seen you for weeks and knowing your schedule, we won't be able to meet up for a while after this."

Nico returned before Eri could decide. Nico was sporting a very wide smile on her face.

"Guess who has a date this Saturday?" Nico beamed, sitting back down in her seat with a very cocky expression and oblivious to the tension between Nozomi and Eri.

Consciously relaxing herself, Eri stepped away from Nozomi and towards Nico. "Hmm, you?" she asked, pretending to think about it.

"Yup," a self-satisfied Nico brushed a ponytail behind her shoulder. "You should have come along Eri, I could have given you some pointers. Not that they would have helped with Maki — she's held over heels for me already. But maybe you could have gotten Umi's number or something."

"Umi? Is that the bassist's name?" Eri's eyes lit up. Self-conscious, Eri's eyes flickered over to assess Nozomi's expression. Thankfully, Nozomi simply smiled.

"Yeah. Once again, I'm surprised you haven't heard of her. She goes to the same university as you," Nico tossed the information out casually. "I've got to start thinking of some date ideas. What do you guys think? A movie probably right?"

"She does? Is she in my year?" Eri asked, disregarding everything else Nico had said.

"A year below, I think," Nico sipped her drink. "A movie and then dinner right? That's classic?"

"What faculty?"

"How should I know?" Nico shot back, frowning at Eri. "Just ask her yourself."

"Right. Right. I'll go do that then," Eri nodded, pushing off the table and taking a deep breath. Umi. Goes to her university. That's a pretty good ice breaker topic.

"Eri," Nozomi spoke up just before Eri set off.

"What now, Nozomi?!" Eri snapped, slumping and extremely frustrated.

"I'm sorry," Nozomi apologized immediately, looking genuinely contrite. "But don't you have to get home? What time did you tell Hanayo you'd be getting back?"

Eri's eyes went immediately to her watch. It was after twelve. "What?! When did it get so late?" Eri snatched her bag and swung her coat over her shoulder. "I've got to go guys," Eri said before downing the last of her drink. "Sorry!"

Without waiting for a response, Eri walked briskly out of the club.

When she got home, she remembered that she didn't even get to talk to the bassist, and let out an existential sigh.

Well, there were more fish in the sea. Guess they just weren't meant to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Nozomi and Eri were sitting outside a small gourmet café shop. Eri knew it was gourmet by the way her latte was served in an actual cup and saucer and with actual latte art swirls. She couldn't afford to come here too often — it would definitely hurt her student budget. But Nozomi had wanted to try the coffee here and treating herself once in a while was perfectly fine. Nozomi was talking about some modelling gig she was doing with Nico the next week. The finer details of which Eri was having trouble following. Not because she didn't understand, but because she wasn't paying attention.

Nozomi called her out on her blatant disinterest.

Eri, in response, squeezed her eyes shut and put her hand to her forehead, groaning. "I'm sorry, Nozomi. Really. I just. Yeah, there's not really a good excuse. Sorry," Eri pleaded, smiling at Nozomi across the coffee table.

"Just tell me what's up already," Nozomi rolled her eyes, leaning back. "You've been in a weird funk for the last week…" Nozomi's eyes flashed. "Wait, don't tell me this is about that bassist?"

"It's not… really," Eri protest fizzled out rapidly. Sitting up, "Look, it's just, I know if I go back to that time, I still would have went home. I need to take care of Alisa. It's not fair to make Hanayo watch her for me when it's my job to take care of her, you know? But at the same time, I really regret leaving without just talking to her even once, just saying 'Hi', you know? I keep imagining what would have happened if I got her number or something… I really really regret it. And then I feel bad for regretting it. It's like… Gah!" Eri gazed at Nozomi with a helpless expression. "It's hard to explain," Eri concluded.

"You know you could probably find her yourself, right?" Nozomi raised an eyebrow, responding after a slight pause. "Nico said she went to your school. It wouldn't be that hard to track her down."

"I thought about that," Eri admitted. "But I think I'd feel too much like a stalker," Eri continued sheepishly.

"Well don't complain about not being able to see her then!" Nozomi shot back. She was about to follow up with another comment when her phone buzzed. She grabbed it, looked at the text she received, then stood up. "Sorry Eri, I got to get going. I need to review scripts with my co-actor in thirty minutes."

"Right," Eri said, standing up as well and walking around the table to give Nozomi a hug. "See you when I see you then," Eri smiled, handing Nozomi her purse.

"Yeah, if ever. Your school and work schedule is crazy you know? I can't believe we were actually able to meet up," Nozomi teased, waving and walking away briskly.

Eri watched Nozomi's retreating back for a while before sighing. Then, she collected their tray, pilling their finished coffee cups onto it, and walked back into the café.

Eri stopped.

There, sitting at the table by the fireplace, was a girl with long dark hair. Her figure was identical to the girl who had stood on stage behind the microphone that other night. And her profile — the soft contours of her cheeks, the rosy lips, the sharp nose…

Eri couldn't be this lucky, could she?

The girl was concentrating intently on the notebook on the table. A pencil was in her left hand and she was using it to tap herself rhythmically on the side of her head, her right hand also tapping in time the table in front of her. She was seemingly deep in thought. Then, she scribbled something slowly on her notepad before returning to her previous position and biting her bottom lip.

Eri thought that was the cutest gesture she had ever seen from anybody.

Okay, Eri had to do something. This was a second chance — this was her second chance. Quickly, she set the used cups and saucers onto the café counter for a barista or another to pick them up. Then, she ordered another latte — she needed an excuse to be in the café, after all. Her order placed, she took a deep breath, and walked towards the table by the fireplace. Her heart was beating out of her chest and her entire body seemed finicky. She shouldn't be nervous. She was just going to make conversation. Be polite. Maybe make a new friend. She could do this.

"Hey," Eri said.

The dark-haired girl looked up from her notepad, casting big round eyes up at Eri. "Yes?" she asked, setting her pencil down on the table with a tap.

Eri blanked. God, the bassist was way more beautiful up close than Eri had ever imagined. The seconds ticked by. Say something! Her mind was screaming at Eri and yet Eri couldn't move.

"Um, yes?" the dark-haired girl repeated, blinking up at the blonde.

Eri finally found her voice. "Um— I— ah, I was maybe sit on you— I mean, with you— I mean on the table— at the table! I wanted— just um— you are really beautiful." Eri shut her eyes, absolutely mortified. She could feel her cheeks colouring. "I think I'll just leave now. Sorry I bothered you."

Eri practically ran away but stopped herself at the café door.

No. This was her second chance. Her second and probably last chance.

Steeling herself, she turned back around.

When she got to the bassist's table, the dark-haired girl looked up with a confused but amused smile.

"Hi, I'm Eri. I saw you at last week's concert and would really like to get to know you better. Do you mind if I sit here?" Eri rambled, speaking as quickly as she could to get all the words out before she blanked again. Eri gestured to the seat opposite the bassist's. Then, Eri waited.

Those were probably the longest five seconds Eri had ever experienced.

The bassist reached out slowly, then smiled. "Umi," she introduced, offering a hand to shake.

Eri breathed a sigh of relief and shook it.


End file.
